Bault



(No Model.)

B. G. RIBAULT.

OAR COUPLING.

N0. 389,107. Pat nted Sept. 4, 1888.

N. PLTKRS PhoQmLWhngr-ayhgr. Washington. D. c.

l i M UNITED STATES PATENT EEioE.

EDOUARD GILBERT RIBAULT, OF PARIS, FRANCE.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 389,107, dated September 4, 1888.

Application filed April 25, 1888. Serial No. 271,836.

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EDOUARD GILBERT RI- BAULT, of the city of Paris, in the Republic of France, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway-Gar Couplings, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide a new and improved automatic ear-coupling.

The invention consists in the combination, with a funnel-shaped draw-head, of a coupling-hook pivoted on the same, and a latch for keeping the coupling-hook in raised position when not required for coupling.

The invention further consists in the combination,with said draw-headand coupling-hook, of a pivoted and weighted plate in the opening of the draw-head.

The invention further consists in the combination,with a draw-bar,ofacoupling-link pivoted to the same, the ends of said link being extended beyond the pivot to form springarms.

The invention also consists in the construction and combination of parts and details, as will be fully described and set forth hereinafter, and then pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side view of my improved car-coupling,parts being in section and others broken out. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same. Fig. 3 is a crosssectional view of parts on the line 00 m, Fig. 1. Fig. 4. is a detail longitudinal sectional view of the draw-head. Fig. 5 is a side view of the lever to be used for uncoupling.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

A funnel-shaped draw-head, A, is provided with the neck 13, secured to one end of a drawbar, 0, the opposite end of which is pivoted between the ends of two levers,D, mounted to swing horizontally in a box or block, E, on the under side of the car. Between the opposite ends of the lovers D the draw-bar L is pivoted.

To the rear end of the neck B the rear end of the angular coupling-hook K is pivoted at the top, the downwardly-projecting shank of said hook being adapted to pass into a suitable vertical aperture in the neck B at the rear end of the funnel. A small plate, F, is secured to a shaft, H, journaled in lugs or jaws (No model.)

G in the sides of the neck B,tl1e shaft H being below said neck. A weight, I, is secured to the bottom of the plate F, and serves to keep the same in the vertical position and to close thefront end of the opening of the neck. \Vhen said plate F is in the vertical position,the end of the coupling-hook K can rest on the upper edge of the same,and is thus held in the raised position.

To the outer end of the draw-rod L the U- shaped coupling-link M is pivoted a short distance from its open end by the pin 0, provided with the spring-keys it. Those ends of the shanks of the coupling-link projecting be yond the pivot O are slightly inclined toward each other, and form springarms m, which, when the link is raised to the horizontal position,can snap into the longitudinal slot Z in the sides of the draw rod or bar,and serve to hold the lock in horizontal position, so that it can enter the opposite funnel A when the cars come together.

In coupling cars the outer ends of the links M enter the funnels A,strike the plates F, and force them inward into the inclined position shown in Fig. 1,the sleeve B being suitably recessed. The coupling-hooks K drop,and their vertical shanks pass through the slots of the links, and the ears are thus coupled.

To uncouple the cars, the lever \V (shown in Fig. 5) is used. The shoe or prong W on the end of the same is inserted between the coupling-hook and the sleeve B, and its outer end is depressed, whereby the coupling-hook is raised, and when it has been raised sufficiently the end of the latch R, pivoted on the top of the funnel-shaped draw-head A, snaps into the notch 7c, thus keeping the couplinghook raised. hen the cars now come together, the links M enter the funnels A and swing back the plates F; but the couplinghooks cannot drop and couple. Before this can take place the latch R must be disengaged from the notch 70, to permit the coupling-hook to rest on the top edge of the plate F. \Vhen the coupling hook is locked in the raised position and the links enter and are arrested,the draw-bars can move farther toward the opposite funnel than the links, as the pivots O can slide in the slots Z, the ends of the spring-jaws or prongs m sliding on the sides of the drawbar L. The rod a passes through and is secured to a sleeve, 0, mounted to turn in the block E, and said sleeve carries a fixed wormwheel, b, that can engage a Worm, S, formed on a transverse shaft, Q, below the car-floor, one or both ends of said shaft extending to the sides of the car and carrying a hand-wheel,l?, for turning it. The shaft Q, is hung in hangers e, mounted loosely on the sleeve 0. The rods a are provided on their outer ends with hooks a, engaging links 5, connected by a right and left hand screw,d, of the usual construction.

To tighten the couplings after the cars have been coupled, and to keep the buffers in contact, the shafts Q, on one or both cars are turned by means of their hand-whee1s,and thereby the rods a are turned and the links b travel on the screwd toward the center of the same. By

reversing the shafts Q the coupling is loosened. Having thus described my invention,I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. In a car-coupling, the combination, with adraw-head, of the draw-bar L and the coupling-link M, pivoted to the draw-bar and havon said hooks, a right and left hand screw uniting the links, the worm-wheels b on the rods a, the transverse shafts Q,and the worms S on the same engaging the worm-wheels b, substantially as herein shown and described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereunto affixed my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

EDOUARD GILBERT RIB AULT.

Witnesses:

CHARLES MATHIEU, RoB'r. M. HOOPER. 

